Fulfillment for Start-ups and Small Businesses

Fulfillment companies are notorious for looking for new business customers that ship high volumes of orders. It’s no secret that a larger volume of orders produces more income for the fulfillment company, and with larger volumes there is typically less risk than taking on a start up or growing company. In fact, many fulfillment and 3PL providers will tell you that you shouldn’t even consider outsourcing your fulfillment until you get to a certain level of order volume, arguing that it doesn’t make sense from a cost perspective to outsource until you reach a minimum order volume. But is all of this really true, or are there instances when outsourcing makes sense even for a start up or small businesses? Are there companies that truly focus on start-up, smaller and growing businesses, offering a fulfillment solution that is affordable and workable for their specific needs?

Why Optimal Order Volumes are a Myth

It is certainly true that efficiencies are gained when order volume increases, but it’s absolutely untrue that smaller businesses shouldn’t outsource unless they reach a certain order volume. First, consider the situation where a small business would rather think “strategically”, focusing most of its internal efforts on growth rather than inserting product into a box and slapping a label on it. Not to minimize the importance of the logistics process as it is extremely important, but growth reigns in a business. In most cases, if you’re not growing sales, then you’re probably shrinking. Especially for smaller or start-up businesses, it could just as easily be argued that razor sharp focus on growth and marketing is absolutely critical to success and longevity of the business. Second, there are a wealth of other instances where outsourcing for a smaller or start-up oriented business make sense, such as international companies looking to expand presence into the US without opening up a physical operation, locating fulfillment closer to the manufacturer or supplier or customer base, or a wealth of other legitimate reasons.

So Start-up Friendly Fulfillment Companies Do Exist?

The good news for start-up or growing companies is that there are some great options for outsourcing fulfillment with companies that have a favorable service and terms for their type of fulfillment project. These companies have focused on building systems, processes, technology and people to be able to offer a cost effective and flexible solution. In fact, if done the right way, these companies are capable of creating a diversified portfolio of clients that aggregately ships in high volumes, creating a unique solution that, as a whole, operates in a similar fashion to a fulfillment company that has a smaller subset of larger volume clients. “The other benefit we see is that oftentimes these smaller and start-up businesses grow significantly, turning into a larger volume shipper,” said Jeremy, owner of Justified Logistics who focuses on order fulfillment services.

The Right Kind of Fulfillment Company Offers Advantages to Smaller Businesses

Ultimately, the benefit of using a fulfillment company that specializes in shipping for smaller volume customers is plentiful. First, these types of companies are typically more flexible – they’re usually smaller businesses themselves with 1-2 regional locations, with processes and procedures but not over-the-top red tape that you have to sift through. For example, larger companies may require orders to be shipped out a certain way without deviation and in its own packaging, whereas small business fulfillment companies offer more flexibility to tailor the order and packaging experience. They understand, after all, that you have to find creative ways to win deals, so they are flexible to meet these needs. Second, smaller volume friendly fulfillment companies have more favorable terms, usually without monthly minimums, since they bank on the aggregate volume of all orders and know that every penny counts for start-ups and growing firms. Third, with smaller companies, oftentimes more dynamic and personable relationships can be forged, as you’ll likely be able to interface with upper level management and won’t be so much of a “number.”

All in all, it’s important to know that you do have options as a start-up or growing business. Although there are articles out there that claim you shouldn’t start outsourcing at an early stage, this couldn’t be further from the truth in a number of cases. By focusing on a company that caters to your particular situation, you do have options to offload this important aspect to a professional organization, so that other business areas can get the attention they need to succeed as a business as a whole.